Artist of the Month: Jeff Auckerman

Meet JULIE’s Artist of the Month: Jeff Auckerman. Jeff is a Joplin, MO native, but moved to Edmond, OK about two years ago. Besides drawing and painting his eerie and though-provoking pieces, Jeff enjoys reading and draws a lot of inspiration from literature. Some of his favorites are Jack Kerouac, Chuck Palahniuk, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Robbins.

How did you get started as an artist?

I’ve dabbled in art for most of my life but never really doing anything aside from doodling. What really got me to get into it a year or so ago, was a need to express a feeling I was having — frustration with what was happening at the time. The thing is, my whole life, all I really wanted was freedom… not so much money or anything that could be taken away, but just the ability to be myself. I think that when I was going through this period, I felt like that was being taken away. So after an exceptionally rough day, I came home, and I just needed to vent. I needed to find a way that I could be honest with my feelings. I had some paint and some canvas… now here I am. It’s really the only true sense of freedom that I’ve discovered. I can do anything I want, express any feeling I’m having on a canvas.

Tell us about your process when creating a piece.

I started out using whatever I had at the time. I had a bunch of paints from those cheap paint sets (gouache, Watercolor, oil) pastels. For my massive drip paintings I started buying cans of oil based house paint from a hardware store. I then started using acrylics, and now I’m using oils, which is a beast. I’ve also started buying rolls of canvas. I make and sketch my own frames, which takes away size constraints.

Where do you draw inspiration?

My inspiration just comes from a need to express myself, a need to be as honest as possible with how I’m feeling. I feel like that’s an incredibly hard thing to accomplish in everyday life. Trying to fit into a world that is constantly try to bend and contort a person gets difficult. It’s my release.

“More The Beast”

What artists inspire or influence you?

I admire a variety of artists: Pollock, Dali, Giacometti, Steadman. There are really too many to mention. I also really enjoy people that are artists in other fields but paint on the side… Kerouac, Clive Barker, Ryan Adams… as well as the simplistic drawing of John Lennon and Tim Burton. My brother Chris has also always been an inspiration.

To see more of Jeff’s art check out his website at jeffauckerman.wordpress.com. Send him a message on his page for pricing.